Pony Watching
by WeirdyMcWeirderton
Summary: This is just a little something I came up with while watching AUJ about Fili and Kili's pony watching failure. More description inside. Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Hobbit.


AN: Here's is another story for everyone! I've been in a Hobbit mood lately and will probably have a few stories uploaded on here within the next week. This one, I just thought the way Thorin had told the brothers to make sure they stay with the ponies made it seem like he had told them this before, and they didn't. Maybe I'm just reading into it, but I've seen the movie so many times, I'm starting to disect every little thing. Oh well, it makes for little prompt stories like this.

Thorin had to travel to the nearby town to make a delivery for the forge he worked at. With his nephews of age, he thought it would be wise to have them join him and become acquainted with the roads and towns around them. He also knew his sister was running around ragged and needed a short break. Which leads him to where he is now, riding his pony to his sister's home to meet his nephews and be on their way.

Dis glanced in her son's room, watching Kili excitedly pack his bag. Dis smiles fondly at her youngest son. Her husband died when Kili was still an infant, Fili when he was still young, and the closest thing to a father Kili and Fili knew growing up was her brother Thorin. Dis shakes her head and heads back to the kitchen. Her boys doted on Thorin; especially Kili, and he was always excited when Thorin included him in on activities. Dis hears a pony ride up to the house and she walks over to the door. She opens it to reveal said brother descending his pony. Thorin ties his pony to the fence and walks over to her.

"Dis," he says with a smile, bringing her in for a hug, which Dis returns wholeheartedly. Dis pulls back and fixes her brother with a look. Thorin furrows his eyebrows in question.

"He has been looking forward to this this trip since you announced last week you were taking them," Dis says, holding her elder brothers' gaze. Thorin nods his head, but still looks at her questioningly, not knowing what she is saying. Dis rolls her eyes. "Be patient with him. He is bound to get on your nerves."

Thorin snorts but understands now why she is telling him this. Both of his nephews have an abundance of energy, but Kili more so. And it only intensifies tenfold when he is excited. Which means, as Dis said, he is bound to be all over the map. The back door opens and slams shut and Thorin and Dis glance up to see Fili enter the house.

"Uncle, you're early," Fili says with a smile when he sees his uncle standing in the middle of the room.

"I finished the sword I was working on faster than I thought," Thorin replies, returning Fili's smile with one of his own.

"Are the ponies ready?" Dis asks her eldest son, looking over at Fili. Fili nods his head and opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by an excited voice.

"Uncle!" The three Durin's look over to see Kili all but bounce into the room, an ear to ear grin on his face, his eyes shining in excitement. Fili smirks, seeing his brother is trying his best to quell his rising enthusiasm. Fili knows how his brother gets when he's excited and so he had a short talk with him earlier about controlling it, especially now that he is older.

"Kili, are you ready?" Thorin asks, noticing Kili is much more subdued than he thought he would be; although, he still looks as if he could fly out of his boots at any moment. Kili nods his head jovially, his grin growing. "You two go get your bags."

Fili and Kili nod their heads and turn to go back to his room when his uncle's voice stops Kili in his steps.

"And Kili…" Thorin says, waiting for Kili to turn around. "Bring your bow and arrow."

Kili nods his head enthusiastically and bounds to his room after his older brother.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

Thorin pulls his pony to a stop and looks around him. They are on their way back home from the neighboring town, where Thorin was able to make a great deal of money. Fili and Kili come up beside him and stop as well. Noticing a grove of trees off to the right, Thorin moves his pony in that direction. His nephews follow him and the three of them climb down.

"We will rest here and eat before continuing," Thorin says, handing his reigns to Fili and nods further away. "You boys take the ponies over there and I will begin on the supper."

Fili and Kili lead the ponies in the direction Thorin nodded.

"Make sure you stay with them," Thorin warns, glancing after his nephews. Fili and Kili glance back at him and nod their heads in understanding before continuing on their way.

Fili leads the horses to a somewhat enclosed area and sets the reigns around their necks, Kili following his lead. Fili walks over to a fallen log and sits down sighing in relaxation. Kili walks over and sits down next to him, straddling the log facing his brother. Fili glances over at Kili who has an eager look on his face.

"What?" Fili asks, his eyes narrowing at his brother suspiciously. A smile appears on Kili's face.

"We should go exploring," Kili says, practically bouncing on the log. Fili smirks and shakes his head.

"Aren't we too old to go exploring?" Fili asks, his eyebrow raised and his smirk growing slightly as he continues to look at his brother. Kili scowls.

"No," he says, thinking about this. A mischievous smile appears on his face. "Think of it more like scouting than exploring."

Fili chuckles and shakes his head. He glances back over at the ponies, watching them for a minute, Kili eagerly awaiting his decision. Fili glances over in the direction Thorin is and then, shifts his gaze to his brother's wide eyes.

"Thorin told us to stay with the ponies," Fili says, cocking his head slightly, watching his brother. "If he finds out we left them here he will be angry."

Kili frowns and his shoulders slump as this sinks in. Kili looks behind him in the direction Thorin is, thinking about this for a moment. A sly grin appears on his face and he looks over at Fili.

"He has to make the fire first before he can cook anything. And he won't come back here until the food is ready. We have plenty of time to scout and be back before he gets here," Kili says, his grin turning proud. Fili thinks about this, but not long before a devilish smirk appears on his lips.

"All right. As long as we're back before Thorin returns," Fili says, standing up. Kili bounces to his feet, and with one last look at the ponies from the two brothers, they disappear into the trees nearby.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

Thorin dips the spoon into the pot hanging over the fire and tastes the stew he has made. Deeming it cooked enough, Thorin begins scooping the stew into three bowls for him and his nephews. Thorin puts the campfire out and then, grabbing the three bowls, heads to where his nephews are waiting. As Thorin nears the enclosed area he saw his nephews heading towards, his steps slow down. Not seeing them, Thorin looks around him, but has the same result. Thorin stops in his tracks and looks around again. The ponies are nowhere to be found either.

"For the love of Durin," Thorin grumbles, a scowl appearing on his face.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

"Kili, are you sure this is the way back?" Fili asks, sighing in aggravation.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kili replies, shoving a tree branch above his head and walking underneath it. Fili grabs the branch from his brother walks underneath it as well. Fili looks around, not really seeing anything familiar.

"I think you got us lost," Fili says, catching up to his brother and glaring over at him. Kili scowls in return.

"I did _not_ get us lost. We…just went a different way," Kili replies, turning away from his brother and continuing through the trees. Fili rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Thorin is going to be livid," he says, eyeing his brothers back, noticing it automatically tense up.

"We'll get back in time," Kili says, but his voice doesn't sound very sure of this. Suddenly, Kili stops and Fili runs into the back of him.

"What? What's wrong?" Fili asks, his eyebrows furrowing. He steps up next to his brother and looks over at him. Kili hesitantly looks over at Fili, his eyes slightly wider than normal. Kili looks back ahead of him but doesn't move. Fili sighs, this time no aggravation is present. He looks around them before speaking up. "Come on. Let's go this way."

Fili grabs Kili's coat and gently pulls him after him and Kili is only too happy to oblige. As they continue walking, Fili begins to see familiar surroundings. Kili notices this as well and he visibly begins to relax.

"I know where we are now," Kili replies, noticing a large rock they had passed shortly after entering the trees. Kili moves to put himself ahead of Fili but, Fili drags him back behind him.

"You lost the privilege to lead Kili," Fili says as he continues to lead them to the edge of the trees. Kili scowls at his brother but doesn't fight it. The two brothers come to the edge of the trees and step out into the enclosed area they left the ponies only to halt in their footsteps. Standing in front of them is a very angry, very rigid, Thorin holding three bowls of stew, a glare aimed in their direction.

"I thought I told you two to stay with the ponies," Thorin says, looking between his two nephews.

"We…we were just scouting ahead a little way," Kili says, guilt evident in his eyes. Thorin glances at the spot they came from.

"In the trees?" he asks Kili. Kili nods his head but he's becoming less and less sure of himself. Thorin looks over at Fili who looks just as ashamed. "When have we ever traveled through the trees Fili?"

"Never," Fili says, casting his eyes downward. Thorin sighs and sets the bowls of stew down on the fallen log.

"Because of your little expedition the ponies are gone," Thorin says exasperatedly. Fili and Kili look up quickly, their eyes wide as they look around and, indeed, see no sign of the ponies. Kili looks over at their uncle.

"I'm sorry. It was my idea," Kili says, diverting his gaze to the ground.

"I should have told Kili no. I'll fix this," Fili says, diverting his gaze to the ground as well.

"Yes you will. As well as your brother. We don't have time to look for the ponies and eat if we are to make it home before late. You two will just have to wait until we get home to eat your supper," Thorin says, a firm gaze resting on his nephews. Fili and Kili nod their heads and quickly disappear around the corner in search of the ponies, knowing their mother will not want to cook so late at night.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

Dis looks up from her sewing when she hears ponies approaching the house. She sets her sewing down on the table next to her and walks over to the front door and opens it up, walking outside with a smile on her face. The smile slowly fades though when, even in the dark, she sees the ashamed looks on her sons' faces. She looks to her brother who just shakes his head before climbing down from his pony. Fili and Kili climb down from their own horses, not looking at their mother.

"Fili, Kili," Thorin says, looking over at his nephews. Fili and Kili look over at him and Thorin continues. "Take the ponies to the stable."

Fili and Kili nod their heads and lead their ponies to the back of the house. Thorin sighs before approaching his sister. Dis eyes him carefully, trying to gage his mood before saying anything. Seeing he's not angry, Dis proceeds.

"What happened?" she asks, holding her brother's gaze.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

Fili and Kili walk in to the house, their heads still hung low. They raise them though, after smelling food cooking. They see a pot hanging over the fire with a stew cooking in it. They look around and see their mother sitting at her chair by the fire, sewing. Fili looks from his mother to the pot and then back at his mother, his eyes wide. Kili has yet to take his own wide eyes off his mother. Fili is about to say something but Dis beats him to it.

"I am not the one you should thank," she says, putting her sewing down on her lap and looking up at her boys, fixing them with a look. Fili and Kili look sheepish. Dis continues. "Your uncle told me what happened on your trip home. If it was up to me I would've just sent you to bed."

"But you're cooking…" Kili finally speaks up, looking at the pot.

"No…I'm not," Dis replies, looking between her two sons, her eyebrow raised. Kili and Fili look over at her, their eyes wide in shock. The front door opens and Thorin walks in to the room. He looks over at his nephews who are staring at Dis in shock. Dis looks back down at her sewing and picks it back up, continuing with her pattern. Fili and Kili look over at their uncle, who walks over to the fire other chair by the fire and takes a seat. Fili and Kili continue to stare at Thorin for a few moments before Thorin speaks up.

"I was hoping this meal wouldn't go to waste," Thorin says, not looking up from the pipe he has just taken out of his jacket. Fili and Kili share a look before twin smiles ghost over their lips. They grab two bowls and walk over to the fire. Thorin watches as Fili scoops the stew into his bowl and hands it to Kili. Kili takes it from him and hands Fili the other bowl, which Fili fills as well. Thorin looks over at his sister who is focusing on her sewing, but Thorin picks up on the small smile playing on her lips. Thorin smiles to himself before putting his pipe in his mouth and watching his nephews sit down at the table and begin on their meal.

KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI

The company rides their ponies up to an abandoned farmhouse in ruins. Thorin and Gandalf are at the head of the group and are looking around. Gandalf descends from his pony and takes a closer look at the old farmhouse.

"We'll camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies," Thorin says as he climbs down from his own pony. Then, a previous trip flashes through his mind; one not long ago, and he looks over at his nephews and speaks firmly, sending them a knowing look. "Make sure you stay with them."

Fili and Kili catch this and nod their heads, the feeling of letting their uncle down leaking back into their minds. Fili and Kili glance at each other before leading the ponies to a separate location. Thorin sighs and shakes his head, hoping the boys have learned their lesson from their previous mistake.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


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